Private Cloudbusting

[Lief]

He wasn't lying. That was a lot of happenings to catch up on. The Galaxy had been fragile at best for a great many years now, new powers rose and fell as quickly as they came about, only to be replaced by another, and another, so much of the Galaxy was left in a constant state of confusion, one day held by peacekeepers and the next power hungry megalomaniacs... It was a wonder they hadn't all gone insane yet. What sort of a life was that?​

​

She was grateful that she was able to get away from it when the Force willed, escape to unknown reaches of the Galaxy or simply exist in a state of limbo drifting through space. The latter wasn't as achievable these days, what with the lack of a ship, but even so she at least had options...​

​

When the news of the Jedi's alliance with the Sith came to light a certain shift overcame the woman. Try as she might she could not keep the frown from settling upon her lips. What troubling times had she returned to? Her student and her quasi-uncle were defending the ilk they had sought to protect the Galaxy from? Those who had taken so much from them both... Had they been overcome by the spirit of some ancient Sith? Lost their minds?​

​

Even as Cotan pressed on to other matters those thoughts lingered, though she was not so rude as to ignore the remainder of what he had to say. She had not yet touched her tea, though the small cup was held within both hands, nursed almost. The warmth it emanated helped to quell some of the darker thoughts plaguing her.​

​

"I am glad there are still men such as yourself fighting for those most in need," she finally responded, a good enough summary of everything she might have felt the need to say. "What a peculiar Galaxy I've returned to... Are we sure that we have not all drifted back into the madness of the Mirrorverse?"​

​

She shook her head, finally taking a sip as though steeling herself in some way.​

​

"What can I do to help? The Force can afford me some time to assist, surely."​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan poured himself another serving of tea from the small pitcher, keeping an eye on Asha's cup as he did. When serving tea in this style, it was important to keep on top of things, go through the multiple steeps, that sort of thing. He didn't want to leave her waiting too long once she was finished; thankfully, rather than coming back and continuing the typical sort of hostess duties that one might normally expect given the ceremonial nature of the brewing, the Zelosian owner didn't come back to keep up the process, likely having noticed the conversation was meant to be an important, private one. Of course, Cotan wasn't entirely sure that she didn't decide to just play it up, noticing him walk in with an attractive young redhead.

"The Force has many different paths and streams to follow. Maybe it's less about what it affords you, and more about which current you pick to float in." The words escaped his mouth before he'd had the chance to think entirely through them. Of course, by that point it was entirely too late not to say them. He raised his eyes back to Asha, expression carefully blank for the moment. Not that it wasn't a true statement, but after everything before, he thought it might make him sound awfully bitter.

 

[Lief]

Well he wasn't wrong. As one who walked the strands of time, tiptoing through webs which overhung a deep, unending void, she knew all too well the many options held aloft before each and every individual in the Galaxy. No one could avoid it, none could walk beyond it, even when believing themselves of precisely that. Each decision simply afforded you a new strand, a new path, but they were all there, as they always would be.​

​

"Mayhaps," came her soft response, with the lightest of nods and a feathery tone to boot, "There are many routes I might take, but all lead to the same goal." What that was, she wasn't sure. She had never claimed to know precisely what it was the Force had in store for her, all she knew was that she followed its pulls insofar as she could. Her disappearance wasn't even truly at its behest, though that was a matter for another day...​

​

"I'm sorry," she finally breathe, whispered words barely making it across the table to him. "It was not my intention to simply leave the way I did." Best she leave it at that for now...​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

He sat, silent still, for a moment after her response. Without saying anything, for a moment, one of his hands reached across the table, around the tea tray. Resting there, for her, if she wanted to take it.

"Asha, what am I going to do with you?" he asked, nearly as quietly as she'd just responded. "Any help you could give would be welcome. I'm not cut out for this running an enclave, running the Judges, not on my own. I'm not cut out to constantly be worried about kids like Ryv and Auteme , jumping head-first into everything the same way I did while being just as unprepared for what it can do. I can fight, and I can stock library shelves, that's about it. The only reason I've gotten as far as I have at anything else is because I'm too stubborn not to make things work."

He cocked his head, slightly, mirroring what she'd done earlier. "But it's not supposed to be all about me, Asha. What I want, what I need. What about you?"

 

[Lief]

She reached out instinctively, without hesitation, and settled her hand over his where it lay upon the table. This was the hardest part of a reunion, where motives were questioned and answers were required before things could progress on as they should have. She braced herself for it, visibly stiffening and straightening her back as though doing such would help deflect the upcoming negativity.​

​

And yet it didn't come. There was no interrogation to be had, no real disappointment or frustration. Just a quiet rhetorical question, and further information to boot. Introspection.​

​

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. You are doing those things already..." Though she was perhaps being a touch pedantic with her response, and so she quelled any other words which might have arisen and instead nodded her head somewhat meekly. "But you should not have to do it all alone. You're correct. And you won't. I promise."​

​

And then he turned it on her. Not in the way she had been expecting, of course, yet it took the breath from her lungs all the same. There was the slightest of tremors to the hand which touched his, and for a time she could not bring herself to look him in the eye. Instead she inspected the cup in her hand, the teapot which lay before them, as though some great mystery were held within both and required her utmost attention right then.​

​

Her expression seemed... quizzical. Troubled, even, as she let his words linger in the air and bounce around her skull. Mulling them over.​

​

"What about me?" she finally responded, her tone matching expression as though truly unsure of what he was expecting her to say. Her mind drifted back to their prior exchange, to the current and the way in which he phrased the statement in its entirety. Pick. He'd used the term pick.​

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"My life was decided for me the moment my mother left me at my father's doorstep. Trust in the Force, follow where it leads, do as I'm bid... There is no other way for me. Not truly."​

​

And yet she was here, wasn't she? Had the Force predicted her to be sitting here now with him? Sure it had led her to Cloud City, to the very plaza he had ventured into, but why? Even questioning it made her brain ache.​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

When her hand lay over his, he quickly shifted, locking their fingers together again. "That's not true," he said bluntly, after she'd finished speaking. As far as he was concerned, it was true; numerous different orders had all considered the idea of the Will of the Force, how best to seek it out, listen to it, follow it. None of them ever seemed able to fully agree, and many of them changed their views over generations even without outside events shifting things. Even then, Asha herself had agreed, moments ago, that, whatever the Force's will was, the method it gave to serve it didn't have to be immutable.

It was odd; as often as they'd met by bodies of water in the past, Asha's mindset somehow seemed so set in stone.

"Didn't you just agree that there were multiple routes to follow? Just because nobody's ever given you the choice doesn't mean you don't still have it." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he leaned forward. "Asha, you're always so focused on taking care of others, on taking care of me when we're together, that it seems like you don't always take care of yourself. And then, with where you let yourself get pulled to, when you're able to come back, the worry and trepidation you feel is obvious. I'm sorry, but at least around me, you haven't always been good at hiding your feelings."

That last statement got a small smile as he said it, though he rounded back to his serious tone almost immediately. "Yes, Asha, you have a choice. The same as I had a choice whether or not to stay with the Jedi, whether to be an archivist or a guardian. It's all just as much about how you use your talents and skills for the Force as it is about whatever the end goal of everything is, and that's where you get the opportunity to pick. Sure, in your case, you're good at taking care of people. You're good at roaming out, finding things that are lost. But that doesn't mean that the way you're doing it is the only way, and it doesn't mean you have to carry any of the burdens that come with that alone."

He took a deep breath, calming himself, closing his eyes. "Asha, I know you care for me, and you know that I care for you, deeply. There's no reason that the Force and us should be in conflict. I want to be there for you, for your needs, just as much as you always try to be for me, but for that to happen I need you to let me in, to let me help you—even if you have to leave again tomorrow, or in a week, or in a month, whatever happens."

 

[Lief]

He had provided her with quite a lot to consider.​

​

There was no way she could dispute what he was saying, for to do so would deny free will in and of itself. Were she on the other side of this she would be telling the person in her seat the very same thing. So why then did it feel like such an impossible task to accept it for herself. More than that, to put it into practice? Was it simply that her soul was tied to the wanderlust following in the Force so strictly provided? Was she too stuck in the past, in the way she was raised, to dare veer from the path she'd known since birth?​

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"I don't like leaving without a word," she finally said, with just the smallest pang of frustration. The way in which she spoke however hinted that it was directed more so at herself, introspectively, and not at the man across from her. "But I don't know how to ignore the call when it's made. I don't necessarily even want to ignore it I just..."​

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Her free hand lifted and drew across her face for a moment, exhaustion suddenly flooding through her. Thankfully it was gone as quickly as it came.​

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"I don't know how to do it any other way..."​

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But I want to.​

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She didn't want the next time she left to even be a topic of discussion much less a lingering thought. Didn't want it to be tomorrow, or a week. But what could she do when she was called upon? When the Force urged her so loudly that it felt as though a rope spread from her chest to the place in the Galaxy she was meant to be?​

​

Had it always been that way, or simply all she could recall?​

​

She did not let go of his hand, slowly managing to lift her gaze to look upon him once more as she tried to shed herself of the rising anxiety she'd begun to feel. A certain existentialism which gripped at her, gnawing, too present to be fully shaken though attempted all the same.​

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"I don't mean to keep you in the dark. I don't want to. I want to let you in."​

​

Perhaps he was right. Perhaps both things could exist as one. Why should she have to separate her personal life from the whims of the Force? Why did it feel like both were ever contentious?​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Well, then."

While she looked, the serious expression softened back into his normal, easy smile. Inwardly, he almost couldn't keep a sense of triumphant pleasure away—almost as though he'd finally caught a troublesome little mouse in a trap. That certainly wasn't the right way to look at it, not at all, and didn't come close to summarizing just how he felt about the entire situation...

But he did have her right where he wanted her, in more ways than one.

"All you have to do is start. I know it's not that easy, but at the same time, well, it kinda is." His smile stretched into a smirk again. "But after the tea; and maybe then, if you want, I can start teaching you how to ignore that gut feeling you get from the Force that you have to go and do something else, how to make things fit together in the way you might want or need them to...even if it means I have to pin you down to do it."

 

[Lief]

The tea.​

​

Asha had quite forgotten about the fragrant drink brewing between them. She brought the cup back up to her lips, drank deeply, and let out another sigh. This one seemed to release all remaining tension, especially when mixed with the words he chose to speak.​

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Try. All she had to do was try.​

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"Okay... Yeah, let's do it."​

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A certain confidence drew upon her then, she could do this. She had conquered worse mountains and with the aid of another surely that would be an even easier feat? Well, one could only hope. Two minds were arguably better than one, after all.​

​

She smiled, drawing back her hand from his just long enough to pour them both another cup of tea. She would have to see if the proprietor of the teashop had any of the leaves she was willing to sell... That, or Asha would simply have to seek it out at its source. Perhaps purchase a plant when she next had a ship wherein to cultivate it.​

​

Returning her hand over his, she simply observed him for a moment. Somehow he managed to make everything seem just a little bit easier, simpler than it was within her mind. She gave his hand a light squeeze, and then took another sip.​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Contrary to usual, Cotan didn't really have much else to say after that, just happy to enjoy the company of the person he was with. All told, this had proven to be a very productive—and at the same time, relaxing—break from what his days were usually like. Short of random small-talk, something that he'd never been all that great with, it was just as easy to spend the rest of the time in silence.

Well, aside from one thing.

"I meant it about not mentioning that corridor, by the way," he started with a conspiratorial whisper. "That actually took us through one of the major Tibanna gas mining company's headquarters. No public access, and those groups can get mean." Of course, he also wouldn't mention that it was the route recommended to him by the proprietor of the shop herself. It cut off an entire five minutes of walking from where his meetings had been taking place!

Cloud City had a weird layout sometimes.

With the rest of the tea and ryshcate passing in comfortable quiet, interrupted only by Cotan making sure to pay for it all, it wasn't long before they were each on the last cups of the last brewing possible before the leaves had given up everything they had. "Well, there's still a fair amount of the day left to enjoy. Want to go on a walk with me all around the upper levels, see what interesting things we can find? Exploring a floating city might not be as interesting as finding a long-lost planet, but I'm sure I can still find some way to get you to have fun."

 

[Lief]

Asha was happy too to simply sit within his presence and enjoy their afternoon together. To sip and dine and simply exist alongside him, without the vast void of the Galaxy lingering between them. Just a table, and a tea set, and a hand which never left his.​

​

The baked goods were suitably divine, she could understand why they were typically kept for special occasions. Though what that entailed could be different to anyone, and to her, and clearly to Cotan, this counted.​

​

When he finally spoke it was to ensure that she understood that his previous request, to keep secret the route they took, was genuine and serious. For her own part, Asha could not help but wonder who exactly it was the man thought she'd be sharing such information with regardless. She shook her head some, smiling sweetly, and set down her teacup. How many refills had they had by now?​

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"I am not one to spread information that is not my own to share," she assured him, though she was sure deep down he realized that much. "Don't worry, no one shall find out from me."​

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Soon enough the afternoon began to fade, and so too did the remnants of their lunch. Time had simultaneously flown and peacefully dragged on in the best of ways, and though it was not yet particularly late she could feel a little fatigue setting in from the comforts of their surroundings and good food. She stretched slightly, trying to keep it at bay, and responded with a nod.​

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"I should very much like that." If nothing it would help to bring her out of her food coma, and further extend the time they had together. Who knew what other tasks Cotan had to do on this gaseous planet, after all.​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan drained the last of the tea, setting the cup down and standing. Studiously ignoring the loud pop of his back as he got out of his chair, he extended a hand back towards Asha, to help her up. "Where would you like to go first?" he asked. "The art museum should still be open, there's always the royal park or the downtown plaza, the holopark, or I could always lead you over to Otherworld Encounter." He could certainly see why some people liked the last option; being able to float and walk around in a real-time simulation copy of Bespin's lowest layers, accompanied with some music, was quite the interesting experience.

Of course, it just made him feel sick when he tried it.

Once they were back outside, he shifted slightly; for this late afternoon adventure, she would have to hang off his arm, like a proper lady. Inasmuch as either of them could be considered proper; for sure, they might be a bit too close together to pass as proper lords and ladies of Cloud City's aristocracy, let alone the clothing difference. Knowing Cotan, though, it was just as likely to be done as some sort of joke at the expense of the upper classes. "Of course, if all the options for sight-seeing and letting me parade you around in a stately manner aren't that exciting, we could always find a turbolift to the lower levels. Ever been to Port Town?" He glanced down, giving her a grin—despite being fairly sure she wouldn't care for the thought at all.

"It's a mess, kinda dirty through all forty levels, and there's always some sort of excitement to be had."

 

[Lief]

There were certainly plenty of options for where their afternoon might lead them. Some might argue too many. As Cotan helped her up from her seat she listened to the many things he listed off and felt rather dizzied in response. The smile she'd been harbouring for quite some time remained upon her lips, though a somewhat faraway look had appeared within her eyes when they made their way outside.​

​

She linked her arm through his, lightly holding on to his upper arm with the other before proceeding to follow his lead. She had not yet provided him with an answer, still mulling it all over in truth. The longer that she went with her silence though the harder it was to make a decision. An apologetic expression was sent his way as he patiently awaited her answer, though before she could retort he set before her another option.​

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One which spoke of adventure, but also danger.​

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"Oh, there are so many options," she pouted, with a twinge of mischief, "Must I be the one to decide? I'm more than happy to simply put one foot in front of the other and spend the day at your side, even if all we do is walk." She sighed then, a long wistful sigh, and settled her head against his arm. After all who was she to try and fit in, in a place such as this?​

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"I have missed you, you know? Dearly."​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Must mean I made a good first impression that day in the woods, huh?"

Or perhaps it was when he'd gone back to Ceto that one day, right after Utapau. The jokes had been merciless that day, both on his part and hers. Never in a million years would he have imagined, back then, just what the jokes would lead to. He wasn't going to complain about it, either. "How about the Ithorian Gardens?" he asked after a moment, thinking while they walked. "We'll stop by the O.E. on the way. I actually think you'll really like it; there's no mind evaporators or anything like that there, just a massive holoscape recreating Bespin's core conditions in real time, and repulsorbelts so that you can float around, it looks as real as can be..."

He trailed off, silence overtaking the walk. It was a shame that moments like this couldn't last forever; unfortunately, in a galaxy rife with instability, there were always people who were needed to step up and protect the rest. Unfortunately—and, perhaps, fortunately all the same—Cotan was one of the ones left with that responsibility, to protect and serve. With that in mind, there was no reason not to take advantage of every opportunity this day presented; no reason not to jump back to one of the thoughts he'd had before.

With his free hand, he reached down into a pocket, searching for the small crystal pendant he kept therein. "While I'm thinking about taking you sight-seeing," he started, withdrawing the necklace once his fingers found it, "How much do you know of some of the ancient artifacts the Jedi used to keep? Things like the Healing Crystals of Fire?"

 

[Lief]

"Then, or when you caused mischief with my students," she retorted with a grin, recalling how all they had wanted to do for the remainder of the day was chant Cotie. It felt like a millennia had passed since then, the Je'daii had fractured much in the way that the Jedi had, each finding their own pockets of the Galaxy to resume their studies. ​

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A momentary pang of grief washed over her, the realization that she'd never see many of them again. The likes of Jyn were already gone from the Galaxy, returned to the Force, others would likely not return to known worlds.​

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Thankfully she wasn't given much time to stew with her thoughts, as Cotan swiftly presented her with a plan. It all sounded wonderful to her, of course, and just listening to him speak with such enthusiasm soothed away the ache in her heart.​

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"Sure, why not! When was the last time we did something solely for the fun of it?" It wasn't often that people like themselves could be afforded such a frivolous moment to themselves, there was always something else to tend to, something more to do. ​

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Once more she settled her cheek lightly against his arm as they strolled side by side, her eyes darting this way and that curious as to what else the world had to offer. It wasn't until he spoke up again, and began to rummage within his pocket, that she peered upward at him again and did away with comfort in order to observe what he presented to her. She paused in place, hoping he too would come to a stop, and turned to face him.​

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"The Healing Crystals of Fire worked miracles. They could bring a being back from the very brink of death, in the right hands." She peered down at the necklace he held, giving it a cursory glance, then matched his gaze with her own. "Is that what I think it is..?"​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Of course, when Asha paused, Cotan found himself a bit too preoccupied with digging out the necklace until he felt the tug on his arm that she still held. Somewhat sheepishly, he stopped and turned, holding out the necklace for her to inspect. "A shard carved off of one, dating back to the Hundred Year Darkness, as best as I can tell," he confirmed. "I'm not done picking this apart, seeing what all there is that went into it—there's an echo, of someone, buried deep—but I do know one thing it can do." He lifted up his left hand, gently caressing Asha's cheek.

"But I'm not much of a healer, alone. Still, since I picked you up back on Aaris III, and we flew to Tatooine, it was clear that your eyes were giving you trouble. Still seems to be the case, at least with one of them." His glance slid over to the crystal, then back to Asha, with a small shrug and a helpless sort of smile. "I was hoping, if you're willing to try the idea, that between the two of us we might manage to get that properly healed, reverse the corneal scarring, that sort of thing..."

It was a bit of a dangerous topic to broach, at least in his mind; calling attention to it in as blunt a manner as he normally spoke—even if he was close to tripping over his words trying to phrase things more gently—made him worried that he could just as easily do more harm than good. Of course, if there was one strategy he had to minimize the awkwardness, one that he knew Asha generally appreciated, it was using humour and hyperbole to both call attention to what was making things awkward and blow it all so far out of proportion that nothing could be reasonably construed in a hurtful manner.

"...Of course, I could always give you a spoon and be ready to take you to get a prosthetic fitted, if you'd prefer, but I imagine you'd already have taken that route if you felt like it."

 

[Lief]

Asha could not recall the last time she had seen Cotan this flustered, close to stumbling over his words, if indeed there ever had been a time at all for her to see. He was being overly cautious, and the more he spoke and tried to talk around it the more she realized what it was he was speaking of before he said it.​

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She lifted her free hand and touched just below the eye in question. In truth that whole side of her face had been affected by the blast, though the eye was the only remaining visible injury her hearing had also suffered as a result. Though she knew they worked wonders, the idea of getting the issue fixed through cybernetics was simply something she hadn't come to terms with, it felt like she would be cutting herself off just a little from the Force by doing so.​

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It had been healed as much as medicine alone could manage, as much as the Force by itself could. But this... This was different. This worked wonders that were incomprehensible.​

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Were it simply a matter of aesthetics she never would have even considered it. She would have rejected the idea outright and had them continue on with their day. But it wasn't just cosmetic, was it? It impacted her ability to carry out her duties... Was that enough of a reason to make use of it?​

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"How long did it take you to build up the courage to ask?" she inquired softly, reaching out her hand to lightly caress his cheek with fleeting touch before settling it back down to her side. She understood of course why he might have been hesitant, most did not enjoy having attention called to their scars, the things which made them weaker so to speak... But in truth Asha was touched he'd even considered it. Surprised, even, that the chance had even arisen.​

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"We could certainly give it a try," she responded, with a ponderous tone, "Thank you, Cotan... For thinking of it."​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Would you believe me if I said I first thought about it right before the tea arrived?" he asked, still a bit sheepish. "But, you know me. Not good with words unless they're jokes. Remember when I nearly ran away from you, on my own ship, because I completely lost my train of thought?" That had been an interesting day all around. Zelosians and processed sugars; he'd probably never have known otherwise, not before running into a much more awkward and hard-to-explain public circumstance of that nature.

He raised the hand that held the crystal, catching hers as it fell; he opened his mouth to continue further, only to notice that the foot traffic around them—minimal as it was, there were still some people present—had stopped. Moreover, he felt that uncomfortable sensation crawling up the back of his neck that he was being watched; at the same time, nothing in the Force screamed of danger. More...excitement. Joy, almost.

Oh, no.

He closed his mouth again, taking a quick, covert glance around the walkway they were at. Sure enough, not too far away, he could see one elderly couple, watching him and Asha with wistful, reminiscent smiles on their faces; a little further along, a small family, with the parents herding their daughter out of the way of a bush that would, admittedly, make a convenient location for a hidden holographer—or, perhaps, just trying to herd her in general, he couldn't tell. Those were the only ones he could easily see; he could certainly sense some others, all around them.

And, of course, it just hit him how close and affectionate he and Asha had been the entire time, coupled with the obvious, impossible-to-miss reflection and refraction of the metal and crystal necklace. "Mmmmm." With his eyes widening a bit, Cotan blinked a few times in mild, nervous distress. While he did prefer to avoid being in the center of things, he could manage well enough so long as it was intentional. When he meant to have all the eyes on him, when he had something specific to do, some sort of point to deliver.

This did not meet any of those requirements.

"Perhaps we could find another small little plaza or park space to do this, without people around?" he whispered, just loud enough that Asha could hear. "I hate to disappoint our audience, but I'm suddenly getting cold feet with enacting this whole proposal right here." The pun sat for a moment, another uncomfortable blink of his eyes. "Or, I suppose, you could take the necklace, kiss me excitedly, and then we could go find that secluded spot, if you don't want to leave the gallery without their entertainment."

 

[Lief]

She shook her head, untamed hair dancing in response, and grinned up at him as he informed her of how long he'd been stewing on it. She tried to conjure up some silly response, something truly Cotan worthy, but the words stopped short in her throat as she observed the way in which he glanced around them, sensed his briefly anxious state. Naturally she also checked around them, not wanting to be caught off guard should they come under attack, but found only a handful of people around them.​

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Yet they were all looking their way.​

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She turned her attention back to Cotan, raising a brow and not at all understanding the connotations. Not at first, that is. Not until he suggested that they take it somewhere a little more private.​

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Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of crimson than perhaps she'd ever exhibited before. Even so, there was mischief in her eyes... Just a glimmer, but present. She didn't say anything, instead opting to throw her arms around his neck and pull him in close. She couldn't quite keep the chuckle inside, the lightest of snickers escaping her lips as the insanity of it all hit her full force. Why not put on a show, just this once. When else was this going to happen in life?​

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And then she brought her lips to his, and though it was all intended as a bit of a joke, a silly moment to capitalize upon the preying gaze of those around them, such was swiftly forgotten. She truly had missed him, and words were evidently not enough to reveal how much that was true. She hadn't even taken the necklace as he suggested at this point, quite forgetting the supposed show they were putting on.​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

When she threw her arms around his neck, he realized his fate was entirely sealed. "I didn't mean that one ser—" he started to protest weakly, before she pulled him in all the way and planted her lips on his. Resigned to his fate, he let his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around her waist in return. Any audience reactions went unnoticed, preoccupied as he was with the girl he was currently pulling tightly in against him; thankfully so, because otherwise the anxiousness he already felt due to their presence might have ruined the moment.

Eventually—and somewhat unwillingly, despite the fact that he hadn't meant for the option Asha took actually be an option—he pulled away, with a small sigh. "Evil. You're absolutely evil, you know that?" His grumbling, of course, was offset by the smile on his face, and the distinctly-not-unhappy tone of his voice. Ever a good actor, though, he reached up, hanging the necklace around Asha's neck. "I will want that back, though," he whispered, to avoid ruining the spectacle. "I wasn't lying when I said I haven't figured it out entirely yet."

Of course, he could already notice at least one pair coming up, ready to congratulate the young couple on their seeming-engagement. He closed his eyes again, grip around Asha's waist slacking; almost immediately, all the attention around them shifted, and the pair that was starting in their direction smoothly went right on past them. "Alright, follow me, I can find our way to somewhere more private. Gotta move quickly, though, I can't maintain this for long with both of us." With that said, he unwrapped her arms from around his neck, grabbing her hands and pulling her along to try and find a more secluded location.

As well-acquainted as he'd become with this general area on Cloud City over the last few days, it didn't take long; after some quick walking, he pulled around behind one building at the edge of the level, descending a flight of stairs and coming to a set of interconnected floating walkways, with some sculptures and benches around. He quickly looked, to make sure nobody else was in the area, before leading Asha in towards one of the hanging circular platforms. "Well, there; now, how about we see what we can manage with that crystal? Then you can kiss me to your heart's content, of course. That's always an accepted form of thanks." His eyes twinkled mischievously, before he continued, intent on regaining some semblance of the high ground in their conversation: "Unless you have something else in mind to thank me with, I suppose."